Method and system for self-managed sound enhancement

Abstract

A system for capturing an individual's hearing characteristics, including loudness tolerance levels at different sound frequencies, as an individualized shaped auditory profile for automatically enhancing audio to complement and address an individual's hearing deficits experienced via a particular signal pathway including the audio device, the sound environment, and the individual's hearing capabilities. The auditory profile is used to produce enhanced sound subsequently transmitted to the individual via the same signal pathway. The enhanced sound may be produced with consideration of both ears' auditory profile shapes together to increase the dynamic range of the enhanced sound. The sound enhancement can be introduced gradually over a sound reproduction session or a period of time of use. Manual gain adjustments applied by multiple users to particular sound enhancement are recorded and used in pattern recognition to allow the system to learn and suggest alternatives to the desired sound enhancement for the auditory profile.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 296,028 filed Oct. 17, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 151,375 filed Jan. 9, 2014, which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 61 / 750,779 filed Jan. 9, 2013, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 184,776 filed Jul. 26, 2012, which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 61 / 371,068 filed Aug. 5, 2010, and U.S. Patent Application No. 61 / 379,237 filed Sep. 1, 2010, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND[0002]This invention is directed in general to the field of audiology and digital sound engineering and in particular to a system and method for enhancing user experience based on an individualized audiological profile.[0003]Hearing loss has been estimated to be the most prevalent disability in developed co...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent allows for a device to capture the sound waves it encounters and use them to enhance the audio signals produced by the device. This is done by measuring the thresholds for different frequencies in the environment and creating a profile that matches the user's hearing. The device can also produce an individual profile for the user based on their specific needs, ensuring a safe and comfortable hearing experience. The results from different tests can be collected and analyzed locally or remotely, and users can modify the recommended hearing experience to their preferences. Overall, the patent improves the overall quality of the listening experience through personalized profiles and safety standards.

Problems solved by technology

The loss of hearing can lead to significant reductions in quality of life, impaired relationships, reduced access to employment and diminished productivity.

People generally are not aware of the decrease in their hearing sensitivities until they experience hearing problems, for instance, difficulty understanding a conversation on the phone or having problems hearing in a noisy environment.

Although wearing a hearing aid is considered as one of the less intrusive assistive technologies for hearing loss patients, it is not without problems.

To use a hearing aid during a phone conversation or music enjoyment via headphones is clumsy and inconvenient.

A common problem associated with hearing loss is tinnitus.

Some people with chronic tinnitus are able to ignore the condition while others find it annoying, intrusive, distracting, and even disabling.

Tinnitus may interfere with sleep, causing both emotional distress and other ill-effects on general health.

One problem is that the unintentional induced loudness in the enhanced audio may cause hearing discomfort and damage.

However, it is not the case for people with various degrees of hearing impairments, such as hearing loss, tinnitus, and hearing loss with tinnitus.

Thus, fitting of a person's hearing curve without taking into consideration the person's sound loudness tolerance profile may lead to hearing discomfort or damage.

Simply increasing device volume in order to sufficiently hear and comprehend enhanced audio as governed by the sound enhancement process may be dangerous.

Increasing or decreasing the loudness of audio of all audiometric frequencies may lead to a range of hearing problems.

Among these factors are transducers in the earphones and environmental noise.

These requirements add complexity to the data acquisition and / or processing components needed in a profiling system.

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